10 Reasons to Green Schools

Protect Health
Asthma is the primary cause of poor school attendance and schools with poor indoor air quality usually have numerous asthma precursors. Schools built with more natural daylight, better ventilation, and healthy green building materials such as non VOC carpets and paints are healthier for students, teachers and other school employees and result in fewer sick days.

Increase Student Performance

A lack of fresh air can cause reduced attentiveness. Studies have shown that student test scores can improve up to 20% when kids learn in green classrooms that provide more natural daylighting, improved classroom acoustics, and healthier paints and carpets that don’t release toxic chemicals into the air.

Save Energy, Save Money

Operating costs for energy and water in a green school can be reduced by 20% to 40%, allowing more money to be used for teacher salaries, textbooks, and computers.

Reduce Carbon Emissions

Green schools significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions. In Los Angeles alone, building 34 new green schools would reduce 94,000 tons of CO2 -- the equivalent of eliminating more than 15,000 cars from the road every year, or planting more than 280,000 trees.

Reduce Water Usage

On average, a green school reduces water usage 32%. This reduction has direct savings for the building, as well as substantial societal benefits from lower pollution and reduced infrastructure costs to deliver water and to transport and treat wastewater.

Improve Teacher Retention

A green school can reduce teacher turnover by as much as 5%, which results in financial savings for the school, as well as a more positive experience for students.

Improve Daily Attendance

Students in green schools are absent less frequently. By reducing absenteeism just 15%, a typical elementary school would save from $40,000 to $60,000.

Provide A Unique Educational Opportunity

Buildings can become teaching tools and important features of science, math, and environmental curriculum when green features and advanced technology and design in schools are used to excite kids about learning real world applications of green technologies.

Create Green Jobs

Investing in building green schools is an investment in green jobs, including green construction, building product manufacturing, and green architecture.

Improve Equity

Greening public schools creates an opportunity to improve the health and educational settings for all students, regardless of income or background.